History:
The term Nihang (ਨਿਹੰਗ) is currently synonymous with a section of Sikhs who retain the militaristic lifestyle of the 18th-19th century Akali (ਅਕਾਲੀ) unconventional warrior corps raised by the fifth Guru onwards.
The genesis of the Akalis came about during the period of Guru Arjan who established the groundwork required to furnish the Sikhs with a military wing as envisioned by Guru Nanak given their revolutionary beliefs and principles. His successor and subsequent Guru, Guru Hargobind, updated the corps and headquartered them at the Akal Takhat within the sacrosanct Darbar ergo the nomenclature Akali (derived from Akal meaning immortal).
The corps proved its daring and mettle in several brief clashes with the Mughal-Hindu combine under the commandership of the sixth Guru; precipitated a defensive action for the liberal Prince Dara Shikoh and blooded itself against countless foes from Guru Gobind Singh onwards.
While current Nihangs are only former shadows of these initial Akalis and are afflicted with corruption of doctrine; they nonetheless symbolize the early Akali spirit which once made the Sikhs famed warriors.
Akali, Nihang and the Sikh:
Historically, there were no fundamental differences between Akalis and Sikhs other than that of apparel and occupation with the former being the regular Sikh soldiery and the latter an irregular. With there being a lack of study on pre-colonial subcontinental military ranks, historians have theorized with what evidence is available that an Akali was equivalent to the Roman Centurion. A lower rank was that of a Nihang. The term Nihang etymologically is of Persian origin with linguists contending that it defines several objects with the most prominent being either the pen or the sword. However this seems to be figurative usage and the most appropriate definition would be crocodilian. The solitary crocodile with is predatory ambushes, sudden strikes and unescapable death rolls came to represent an otherwise unconquerable foe i.e. the unorthodox Akalis who conformed to no standard military doctrine.
Intriguingly, Nihang also came to be associated with the multiple mercenary armies which roamed the subcontinent far and wide as unearthed by Dr. Balwant Singh Dhillon. There is a general concurrence that the term Nihang was never used an epithet by the Akalis before the Mughals ascribed it to them. Irrespective of the context under which they were labeled so, the Akalis denoted it as a subordinate rank under their command. In due time the term become synonymous to the degree that most often Akali-Nihang was understood to mean a member of the Khalsa military who had risen through the ranks to earn the Akali distinction.
After the betrayal and premature demise of Khalsa generalissimo Baba Banda Singh, the Akalis who had served under Guru Gobind Singh restructured themselves on a pattern initiated by their senior most veteran Darbara Singh. Their strategy consisted of the Akalis clandestinely traveling from one region to another training the Khalsa youth, men and women, in military arts. These younger Sikhs in turn spent a certain period with the Akalis and were denoted as Nihangs, warring for the liberty of their faith alongside the elderly veteran generation.
Discipline:
Their ferocity and savagery aside, what attracted the contemporary Khalsa youth to the rigorous militaristic lifestyle of the unmovable veterans who preferred death above concession? One need not look further than their psyche which was rewired by adherence to the Guru Granth. They were empowered by the thought that human life was transitionary and each and every life was microcosmically attached to a potent Whole which, in due turn, had blessed them with the rationality to exceed the fragile limits of their human physicality. What’s more, solely living life for the sake of it was to ignore its value. Every morning they contemplated the words of Guru Nanak:
ਸੋ ਜੀਵਿਆ ਜਿਸੁ ਮਨਿ ਵਸਿਆ ਸੋਇ ॥
ਨਾਨਕ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਜੀਵੈ ਕੋਇ ॥
ਜੇ ਜੀਵੈ ਪਤਿ ਲਥੀ ਜਾਇ ॥
ਸਭੁ ਹਰਾਮੁ ਜੇਤਾ ਕਿਛੁ ਖਾਇ ॥
“Only they are truly alive within whose mind resides the truth. Nanak, otherwise none other can be considered alive. If one lives only for the sake of living than what one does is a sin.”
-Guru Granth, 142.
While pursuing the truth as a virtue they also dedicated themselves to becoming a template for humanity to exhibit the heights of perfection which all and sundry could aspire to. This journey was exemplified by their adherence to the minimum of Sikh standards rooted in the Khalsa Rehat or code of deportment. Guru Nanak had seen that the unbending discipline of a warrior was something which his Sikhs would require to continually battle their detractors both externally and internally. In his eyes the self-sacrifice of any bloodied warrior in the field of combat symbolized the years of painstaking effort required to hone the psyche of such an individual. This was the psyche he envisioned his Sikhs having. To this end while he laid the ideological foundations of the Khalsa, his successors exemplified them for day-to-day Sikh life. This same discipline was inherited by the new generation of Khalsa youth in the post-Guru era. The awakening at dawn; the refrain from consuming detrimental substances; the impelling of change through force; the rigid adherence to Sikhi’s revolutionary doctrines and the acceptance of death-all this contributed towards forming a core warrior mentality augmented by training in the utility of arms and statecraft.
A School Without Walls:
Imagine a Promethean scene. Elderly, grim Akali veterans in electric blue robes and armed to the teeth sitting around a raised dais atop which is situated the Guru Granth. Around them sit the Nihang Sikhs intently listening to an exegesis of the canon. As the sun finally effaces the darkness ringing them, they rise as one and commence mock feints and drills while a section breaks off to discuss politics and sovereignty. Later, the collect together to reflect on the merits of Sikh life and the importance of hardship. This was the Khalsa school without walls. Young Sikh men and women were either broken here or formed into elite fighters who retained a fearsome warrior mentality both within and without. Those who succeeded in this school walked away with the unsullied Nihang mentality:
-Total acceptance of the Guru Granth.
-Necessity of admission into the Khalsa through the initiation of the sword.
-Welcoming of death in the service of a revolutionary cause.
This mentality was what produced the ablest Sikh commanders and generals in the consequent years with some of the most prominent being Nawab Kapur Singh; Jathedar Jassa Singh Alhuwalia; Baba Baghel Singh; Akali Dip Singh Shahid and countless more. As is necessary with any military, an esprit-de-corps emanating from the Guru Granth and Sikh heritage animated the Khalsa military with its most salient aspect being the Nihang mentality. Countless leaders were produced by this school; raw recruits were turned into able warriors and the Sikh spirit institutionalized within each and every lesson.
Curriculum:
It would be erroneous to believe, in light of the above, that the Nihang mentality emanated from the necessity of conflict to preserve Sikhi. Rather, it was a manifestation of principles found within the Guru Granth. The crux of this mentality was true fearlessness i.e. fearlessness in the face of life’s trials, travails and the ultimate welcoming of death as a finality to a life lived in the pursuit of perfection.
ਮਰਣੁ ਨ ਮੰਦਾ ਲੋਕਾ ਆਖੀਐ ਜੇ ਕੋਈ ਮਰਿ ਜਾਣੈ ॥੨॥
ਮਰਣੁ ਮੁਣਸਾ ਸੂਰਿਆ ਹਕੁ ਹੈ ਜੋ ਹੋਇ ਮਰਨਿ ਪਰਵਾਣੋ ॥
“If the masses were enlightened they would not vilify death as an evil. True death is the prerogative of valorous heroes; such deaths are appealing to their Maker.”
-Guru Granth, 579.
On a practical level this mentality also laid the cornerstones of an autonomous and independent lifestyle. Those who possessed it sought to imbibe the truth rather than pay lip service to it:
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਨੋ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਵੇਖਦਾ ਜੇਤਾ ਜਗਤੁ ਸੰਸਾਰੁ ॥ ਡਿਠੈ ਮੁਕਤਿ ਨ ਹੋਵਈ ਜਿਚਰੁ ਸਬਦਿ ਨ ਕਰੇ ਵੀਚਾਰੁ ॥
"All of Creation knows how to perceive Satguru (the truth). But perception alone isn't enough for peace unless you comprehend and live the Shabad in your life."
-Guru Granth, 594.
They effaced their inner doubts thus becoming incorruptible in their moralistic stance rendering them immune from the lure of pleasure and the threat of pain.
ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਪ੍ਰਾਣੀ ਭਰਮੁ ਗਵਾਇ ॥
“The Gurmukh is that Being who sheds all their doubts.”
-Guru Granth, 231.
Such were the Khalsa Nihangs of yesteryear who spread out into the world to exemplify the perfection of Guru Nanak’s doctrines.
Restoration:
Is it possible that this now lost mentality; this lost Sikh school without walls can be restored? We believe it is possible but only if the Sikhs learn to personify i.e. live the words of the Guru Granth in their lives. The current polarizing dichotomy which afflicts Sikh discourse consists of arguing over whether the Guru Granth is to be reverenced or understood. Those who contend for the former accuse those who contend for the latter of atheism and post-modernism. We, however, believe that the middle ground consists of living Gurmat-the Guru’s existential framework-and only then can the Guru Granth truly be reverenced as well as comprehended as per its true worth. Our advise to the Sikh world is to forego the aforementioned battle and rather concentrate on imbibing Gurmat as this is the only true way to resurrect the pristine Khalsa in this day and age. Otherwise, we risk relegating the true Nihang mentality to oblivion by our very own hands.